The "iron-responsive element" (IRE) is a particular hairpin structure located in the 5'-untranslated region (5'-UTR) or in the 3'-untranslated region (3'-UTR) of various mRNAs coding for proteins involved in cellular iron metabolism. The IREs are recognized by trans-acting proteins known as Iron Regulatory Proteins (IRPs) that control mRNA translation rate and stability. Two closely related IRPs, denoted as IRP-1 and IRP-2, have been identified so far which bind IREs and become inactiv......